Due to inclement weather forecast for Sunday, the Battle of the Bands has been moved to UNIV Studio at 1057 S Coast Hwy 101 in downtown Encinitas. We are very grateful to keep the show going at the same time this Sunday May 7th from noon-3. See previous post for schedule.

Don’t miss all the good times at our 2017 Battle for the Bands for Summer Fun at Seaweed and Gravel (1144 N coast Hwy 101 Leucadia) this Saturday May 7th from noon-3PM! The judges will choose one young band to play on June 24th at Leucadia Roadside Park. See below for our talent packed schedule.

We’ll also be raising money for the Summer Fun Music Scholarship Fund and revealing this year’s Summer Fun lineup so grab your cruiser and come check it out!

Birdy Bardot is hardly a new face in the San Diego music scene. She and husband Brian Reilly started The New Kinetics back in 2010 and have been firing up local clubs like the Casbah with their scorching hot garage rock ever since. In 2015 Birdy joined up with a new roster at Redwoods Records and recorded her self-titled debut album that SD Citybeat proclaimed the number one San Diego album of 2015.

The seven-piece Birdy Bardot Band is made up of the tightest musical talents in town, including guitarist Dillon Casey whose excellent modern folk band Second Cousins will be playing Saturday 2:15PM at Roadside Park before Birdy takes the stage at 4PM. The original “Garage psych, haunted lullabies and California soul” of Birdy Bardot is sure to bring beautiful vibrations to Leucadia this Saurday!

For the last two years this crew has been lighting the Belly Up on fire with their crescendoing cosmic jams and they just released a powerful new self-titled EP. Don’t miss them 5 PM at Roadside Park on Saturday.

Sacri Monti is Latin for Sacred Mountain. These five friends have elevated their guitar-centric shredding to a sacred craft. Their eponymous debut LP just came out on Tee Pee Records and it’s a loud and ripping affair. A lot of writers use the term “stoner rock” to refer to this new generation of long haired maniacs inspired by Earthless and 70’s guitar rock. We don’t think that’s a fair term. The tightness and complexity of their tunes would indicate that they practice as much as any jazz or classical musicians.

Monarch is another heavy guitar band from Encinitas made up of Matt Weis, Andrew Ware, Thomas DiBenedetto, Dominic Denholm, Nate Burns.

Taking huge influence from the Allman Brother’s Band and Wishbone Ash, these five gentleman have concocted their own groovy sound anchored by intricate guitar harmonies

Monarch is set to release their debut LP on the Portuguese label El Paraiso Records on July 29th. And like most of the other bands mentioned in this post, they have a strong following in Europe. Don’t miss their 5PM set at Priority Public House on Sunday.

Here’s the man they call Bear in the band they call Amerikan Bear. Steeped in early psych and soul sounds of the mid to late sixties, this dude is an animal on the mic. His ferocious and heart wrenching howls are in a class of their own. His mini psych-masterpieces even caught the ear of Alex Maas of Black Angels who is featured on Amerikan Bear’s most recent tune called “I Know the Story”.

Amerikan Bear is typically Bear on guitar/vocals, Omar Veytia on 12-string guitar, Andrew Ware on drums, Conor Riley on keys and Daniel on bass. But Sunday 12:30PM (noon) at Ducky Waddle’s, Amerikan Bear will be playing a special solo acoustic set.

Come out and support these heavy brothers and sisters who are stirring up a great rock scene in San Diego.